First Family Campout

We had a fun experience last night - it was our first ever family campout for all four of us together. (You might remember that my daughter and I went on a campout by ourselves a while back.) I suppose I should qualify this posting by pointing out that, by "camping" I mean we set our tent up in Cameron Park Zoo, we were fed Dominoes pizza and got a behind the scenes zoo tour before hitting the hay at about 10 p.m. So it's not as if we were really roughing it. But we were all crowded into a tent which is technically a four person tent but I must say that it was a very tight squeeze. Good thing I'm pretty short and our kids aren't yet teenagers. (Well, to be honest, there are many reasons it's a good thing my kids aren't yet teens...)

I was cozy BUT I wasn't terribly fond of the cold. My husband and I slept on top of one sleeping bag (because we didn't have enough to go around) and I kept hypothermia at bay by wearing my hoodie to sleep. I was surprisingly happy, however, to have my whole family in this little space...I could reach everyone just by stretching out my arm. Somehow it felt very safe to know that everyone was RIGHT THERE. I liked it enough that I told my husband I thought it might be neat for the two of us to campout one night - we could drop the kids off at his parents and just sleep under the stars.

I think what I like best of all is waking up with the sun and the birds - I felt much more in sync than I normally do in the mornings...I have to get up early every day anyway - this makes me think it would be a good idea to start my day by stepping outside for a few minutes. I'll try to remember to do that tomorrow. It's a lot more comforting to be in rhythm with nature than it is to be in rhythm with the TV or even the coffee maker (although I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my java each day).